Score: B
Summary:
Qtum is an open-source blockchain platform based in Singapore that combines the Unspent Transaction Output (UTXO) security protocol from Bitcoin with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) system for smart contracts using a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus method. QTUM is the native coin for the Qtum blockchain, and the governance for the Qtum blockchain is handled by the Decentralized Governance Protocol (DGP) to allow for changes in certain blockchain or smart contract settings without necessarily needing a hard fork of the network. Finally, Qtum’s Account Abstraction Layer (AAL) decouples applications from the underlying protocol, lending the ability to add more smart contract capability in the future. The developer community is moderately active, with most updates focusing on newer features (specifically Qtum Improvement Proposal (QIP) 26) that will require a hard fork of the network. The Qtum platform has also recently (2021 Feb 16) announced a partnership with On-chain KYC company Blockpass, and has been selected by the Asgardia space nation to host the nation’s digital currency. Overall, Qtum is a solid blockchain, but leaves something to be desired with respect to ease of access to information and having a plan for public adoption.
Review:
Qtum is an open-source blockchain platform based in Singapore that combines the Unspent Transaction Output (UTXO) protocol from Bitcoin with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) system for smart contracts using a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus method. The EVM model of smart contracts work with accounts that hold the wallet’s balance, while UTXO manages the balance of a wallet as any number of individual transactions. UTXO is the amount of digital currency remaining after a cryptocurrency transaction is executed, and are responsible for beginning and ending each transaction. When a transaction is completed, any unspect outputs are deposited back into a database as inputs which can be used at a later date for a new transaction. Because Qtum uses Bitcoin’s UTXO model, any updates made to the Bitcoin Core will always be of the highest priority to the Qtum development team. The EVM is a distributed state machine that holds all accounts and balances, and can execute arbitrary machine code; this enables smart contracts. Smart contracts are accounts that are deployed to the network and run as a program, and also have their own balance and transaction capabilities. Smart contracts enable transactions to occur based on some programmed criteria, such as the time of day or even weather conditions. Because the programming language used with the EVM, Solidity, is fairly new, the Qtum team is working to enable an x86 virtual machine for the Qtum blockchain, which will enable programming of smart contracts using mature programming languages such as C, C++, Python, and Rust.
QTUM is the native coin for the Qtum blockchain, and the governance for the Qtum blockchain is handled by the Decentralized Governance Protocol (DGP) to allow for changes in certain blockchain or smart contract settings without necessarily needing a hard fork of the network. Updates to the Qtum blockchain are called Qtum Improvement Proposals (QIP). The DGP chain management protocol greatly reduces the harm caused by a fork and maintains the decentralization consensus. The developer community is moderately active, with most updates focusing on newer features (specifically Qtum Improvement Proposal (QIP) 26) that will require a hard fork of the network. QIP 26 will decrease block intervals from an average of 128 seconds to an average of 16 seconds. This will provide faster transactions for QTUM as well as smart contract transactions. This is one of the few QIPs that will necessitate a hard fork of the network. Otherwise, the official code base of the Qtum blockchain was last updated on 2021 Feb 05, though there are still 4 open update requests (called “Pull Requests” on GitHub), one of which has not been looked at since 2019. Overall, the Qtum team is making good progress on their goals.
Finally, Qtum’s Account Abstraction Layer (AAL) decouples applications from the underlying protocol, lending the ability to add more smart contract capability in the future. The AAL interface abstracts all individual transactions to present a single account balance that allows easier smart contract operations and code reuse from Ethereum smart contracts. The is an example of how Qtum is modularized so that new technology can always be added.
The Qtum platform has also recently (2021 Feb 16) announced a partnership with On-chain KYC company Blockpass, and has been selected by the Asgardia space nation to host the nation’s digital currency. For their partnership with Blockpass, Qtum will offer subsidies to specific members seeking to achieve regulatory compliance via Blockpass’s On-chain KYC solutions. With regard to the Asgardia space nation, the Solar is a token on the Qtum blockchain that is the official digital decentralized national currency, and the Qtum blockchain was chosen for its safe, smooth, and fast operation. One interesting note here is that one of the nodes for the Qtum blockchain is actually in space.
Conclusion
The Qtum blockchain shines with its use of the UTXO model from Bitcoin and its use of the EVM model from Ethereum, with the additional perk of using a PoS consensus method. However, there is something left to be desired with respect to the ease of access to information on its website and with respect to a plan for public adoption. Overall, I’m giving the Qtum blockchain with its associated QTUM coin a score of B.
